Turkish officials have sought to offer Saudi Arabia a way of de-escalating the diplomatic crisis over disappeared journalist Jamal Khashoggi by indicating to Riyadh a Saudi “deep state” could be blamed for the chilling events, various media outlets were reporting on October 10.

However, according to a report in The Guardian, “there has been little interest from the kingdom, leading some senior Turkish officials to conclude that Riyadh does not fear the consequences [of the scandal]”.

Meanwhile, as Donald Trump belatedly made some strong comments over the suspected pre-meditated murder within the Saudis’ Istanbul consulate—“It's a very sad situation, it's a very bad situation… We cannot let this happen to reporters, to anybody,” he told journalists in the Oval Office—London-based Middle East Eye put out an exclusive saying sources close to the Turkish investigation said Khashoggi was dragged from the consul-general's office inside the consulate before he was brutally murdered by two men who dismembered his body.

“They know when and where”
“Turkish officials say they know when and where in the building the veteran Saudi journalist was killed and are considering whether to dig up the consul-general's garden [at the consul-general’s residence near the consulate] to see whether his remains are buried there,” the publication reported.

Khashoggi—a critic of the present Saudi regime and advisor to officials of previous Riyadh administrations who since last year was self-exiled and living at a Washington, DC address—has been missing since the afternoon of October 2 when he entered the consulate to obtain paperwork so he could remarry.

The Saudis have claimed that he exited the consulate after visiting it over the required paperwork, but have not presented any proof. “I would like to confirm that... Jamal is not at the consulate nor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the consulate and the embassy are working to search for him,” the Saudi consul-general, Mohammad al-Otaibi, said on October 6 after the consulate was opened to Reuters journalists. “We are worried about this case.”

October 10 also saw reports that the Saudis have denied Turkish investigators further access to the consulate for their investigation after being angered by Turkish pro-government media outlets reporting the names, photos and details of 15 Saudis allegedly linked to what happened to Khashoggi, which the outlets said were leaked by Turkish authorities. The 15 include special forces officers, intelligence officials, national guards and a forensics expert.

Staff ‘told to take afternoon off’
Media have also reported that on the day of Khashoggi’s paperwork appointment, all local staff members of the consulate were told to take the afternoon off, with their superiors saying a high-level diplomatic meeting would be taking place. 

US Vice President Mike Pence indicated in an interview broadcast on October 10 that he'd be open to sending a team of FBI agents to Turkey to investigate the Khashoggi case. He described reports of Khashoggi's death as concerning to "everyone that cares as a free and open press around the world".

The week has seen some US senators begin to start talking about economic consequences that Washington’s big Middle East ally Saudi Arabia could suffer in relation to the Khashoggi scandal, but there are anxieties that Ankara might try to offer the Saudi monarchy one of the less painful routes out of the affair in return for concessions. The report from The Guardian, for instance, noted that many Turkish officials who provided information to reporters earlier in the inquiry into the events were now refusing to speak, citing political sensitivities.

Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wrote of how “in this case, we might be dealing with an organization which is acting as a kind of deep state structure by using the means of a state representing its own people” in an October 10 article for Yeni Safak. 

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has called for an independent international investigation into Khashoggi's disappearance.